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Multichannels ease the pain

When networks were forced to launch multichannels they were complaining about the recession, but they have helped them rebuild revenue.

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Seven network’s national sales director says the rebound in advertising revenues for commercial networks is part of “a very solid correction” in the industry following a downturn in 2009.

Free TV recently announced a total of $1.8 billion for the first six months of 2010 for the three comemrcial FTAs, up 18% year-to-year on the same period in 2009, which saw ad revs slump to $1.4 billion.

The upturn in the economy and new digital channels have helped networks to lift their earnings.

“When Freeview was first (discussed) people thought it was just a marketing stunt,” Warburton told Variety. “But when you look at the quality of programming that 7TWO and GO! have got, there are nights when up to 10% or 11% of the viewing population are choosing one of the multichannels.”

Some nights those channels beat SBS. Last week GO! celebrated its first birthday on air while 7TWO turns one in November.

Ironically, the channels were launched at a time when networks were complaining about the doom in the economy.

The extra channels enable networks to integrate advertising campaigns and target specific demographics.

Other factors helping the TV market are a general return by some of the larger advertisers that deserted during the financial crash, and increased viewing of catch-up video websites.

“We believe the market will be back to where it was before the global financial crash this year, which is quicker than most people imagined.”

Source: Variety

9 Responses

  2. @Chris – you beat me to it. When Freeview started showing their Ford rip-off ad bleating about 15 “new” channels, we already had 11of them – 5 SD main, 5 HD main, plus ABC2. We were told that this would all be happening by May 2009 but One was the only actually new channel to make this deadline.

    The Freeview brand is a crock and has done nothing more than confuse the majority of TV viewers and try to foist crippleware on the unsuspecting public.

    “…up to 10% or 11% of the viewing population are choosing one of the multichannels” because there is so much lowest common denominator mind-numbing garbage on the commercial stations main channels.

  3. “there are nights when up to 10% or 11% of the viewing population are choosing one of the multichannels.”

    really, when? i’m pretty sure the highest was 7two on a saturday a fortnight ago with 8.7%.

  4. 7TWO seems to offer complementary programming to the main channel in a way than enhances their total audience, but GO has fractured Nine’s audience such that the main channel is regularly coming 3rd. Now that GO is such a success for Nine they really need to focus on getting women watching their main channel again with programming that is less obviously male-skewing. Nine have a big challenge ahead next year if Seven wake up and start programming 830 properly again – and it looks like they are.

  5. “When Freeview was first (discussed) people thought it was just a marketing stunt” Warburton

    Multichannels ≠ Freeview. The legislation to allow FTA multichannels both pre-dates and is completely independent of the Freeview marketing brand. In fact, from a consumer point of view, in the almost two years since it launched Freeview is yet to amount to anything but hobbled PVR’s.

  6. Just shows you how dumb the networks are. They were suck in the 60’s. Isn’t it basic capitalist business 101 to expand and grow a company? This means adding more product range (ie. more channels). Much like the music industry didn’t want mp3’s at first, it beats me how the industry doesn’t want to do the work to change to give the public what it wants.

  7. So much for the commercials’ whinging a few years ago that extra channels would splinter the viewership.

    They have the truth that We all knew right in front of them now in their beloved ratings figures, and they still don’t get it.

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